This Sunday we enter into the holy season of Advent. In doing so, we are again given the rich opportunity to reflect on arrival of Jesus,

who came to the world as the “Prince of Peace,” that first Christmas

whose Spirit comes to the world bringing glimpses of peace every day

who will come again to bring in the perfection of God’s peace

In this Advent season, may you know and share the gift of God’s near presence. May you strive daily to share Christ’s peace. And may you be lifted by the words of the blessing:

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.

It is my pleasure and honor as your Senior Warden to kick off our 2019 Ascension Parish Annual Stewardship campaign.

Many of you have been a part of the Ascension Parish family for some years. You have experienced a number of Stewardship drives and you have pledged faithfully. You have been led through financially tough times as well as robust years by a number of competent senior wardens and church leaders.

We are but one of many Episcopal churches in the Portland metro area. The choices of churches in which to worship on a Sunday morning are enormous. And yet we have all chosen to be here -- to be in this tiny wooden shoe-boxed shaped church. We have chosen this worship community with whom to sing, pray, laugh, cry and break bread. When we are sick, we minister to one another. We delight in each other’s triumphs. When we are sad, we hug. When we travel, we miss one another. We are a small community and as such we are an intimate community. I would add that we are a very blessed community.

The annual Episcopal stewardship pledge asks for a commitment to help with the parish ministries, to regularly attend services and to give financial assistance to this church.

The financial pledges that we make in our Annual Stewardship campaign allow us to employ Giacomo Adragna, our Sexton, who for decades has provided to us, every day, a clean and tidy environment in which to worship and socialize. Our pledges support our amazingly talented Music Director and organist, Emma Riggle. They support Sally LeBaron who is the face of Ascension Parish in the community. When worship ends, Sally continues our service throughout the week. Emma and Sally produce The View, which is a delightful and informative newsletter covering Ascension Parish events. Andrea Rosselle has been a wonderful addition as our Artist-in-Residence and leader of our burgeoning Sunday youth group. Our pledges support our Rector, Fr. Phillip, who illuminates a spiritual path for us to follow and explore. He does so with wisdom, humor and kindness. Jennifer Craig and the entire Craig family freely give their time and their talents in support of this mission and everything we do at Ascension Parish.

I write to you as your Senior Warden and as a representative of the Vestry. We ask that you give generously in your pledge. As Senior Warden, I have observed that we are extremely frugal at Ascension Parish. We squeeze every bit from every pledged dollar. In the past few years we have kept our expenses below our pledged income. But I can tell you, it is a close call. This building is lovely but it old and it needs continual care. Tom Hussey, the Junior Warden, is an amazing fix-it man. He is continually busy repairing and replacing aged building materials. It is likely that this year we will need to fix some of our windows in the Commons before we have leakage problems.

When considering your financial pledge, we ask, if you are able, to commit to a similar dollar amount that you pledged last year. If, however, you are able to increase your pledge, please do so. We will be very, very appreciative and your pledge will be used wisely.

When filling out your pledge card, take some time to think about ministries in which you might like to take part. We are a small worship group, but we perform all the rites and rituals that are celebrated in every Episcopal Church. Your talents were given to you by a loving and gracious God. Rejoice in using them. Share them in this parish.

Stewardship offers all of us the opportunity to dream and to commit to something more glorious than what we can achieve on our own. As stewards of this worship community we can act with a largeness that we alone cannot attain. We can live the Gospel of Hope and practice a faith-filled life that offers compassion, forgiveness and renewal. In 2019 let our stewardship pledge be a commitment to live our lives for the Glory of God, a reflection of our blessings and a conduit for caring for and nurturing our Ascension Parish community.

Once you have completed your pledge card, please return it to the church. We hope to have received all pledges in the next two weeks. If you have any questions about your previous pledges or your 2019 pledge, our very knowledgeable, friendly and dedicated treasurer, Bob Howard, will be happy to help you with those details.

﻿

Again, thank you and many blessings to you in this new year.

If you have not yet received your Pledge Card, they are available in the Parish Office.

In the spirit of giving back, and coinciding with the Feast of St. Nicholas, we are collecting "new and unused" toys to deliver to our local fire station, Station #15. Bring them by anytime and on Sunday, December 23 we will deliver them. For more information, here is a link: http://www.toynjoymakers.org/.

Please resist the urge to wrap them so they know what the toys are and drop them off in the blue bin in the Common Room.

Thank you and take care during this busy season of Advent,

The Baptism of Owen Smith Albaugh

On Sunday, November 18, we were privileged to witness the baptism of Owen Smith Albaugh, grandson of Karen Albuagh and son of Stephen and Caitlin Albaugh.

Welcome to the family of the Church, little one!

"Children are a heritage from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a gift." Psalm 127:4

Christmas Greens & Flowers

Christmas is coming! Please consider a memorial or other offering toward the wonderful greens and flowers for AEP’s Christmas preparations.

Simply fill in the form you'll find in our Advent service bulletins and include it with your check (put “Christmas Flowers” in the memo line) and place them in the offering basket. You can also download a form by clicking the link below.

These remembrances and thanksgivings will be included in a special Christmas bulletin insert.

And remember to mark your calendars ...

Greening of the Chapel: December 23, after the 10:00 A.M. Mass

Bring your greenery cuttings and stick around after the 10:00 A.M. Mass on Decemebr 23 to help us beautify our Chapel for Christmastide!

William Temple House: Outerwear for Winter

Our new William Temple House barrel is waiting in the foyer under the guest book table, all ready for you to put your new or lightly used outerwear into it! The William Temple House does a special distribution of coats, hats, gloves, etc. this time of year, and we're looking to support them in this important work!

This time of year can be especially hard for those who are struggling. Let's pitch in to help make it a little easier for our neighbors.

For this edition of Parish Life, we'd like to share a lovely Advent idea from Barbara Anderson.

The Advent Basket

Each day of Advent, you place an item into your Advent Basket, and at the end of Advent, donate your basket of goodies to your local food bank or shelter!

If you have photos or stories of life at Ascension, or of parishioner adventures outside our walls, please send them to View editor Emma at music@ascensionepiscopalparish.org.

This Month

Sunday, December 2:

9:00 A.M. Choir Rehearsal

10:00 A.M. Youth Art Class

Sunday, December 9:

9:00 A.M. Choir Rehearsal

10:00 A.M. Advent Service of Lessons & Carols

Sunday, December 16:

9:00 A.M. Choir Rehearsal

10:00 A.M. Youth Art Class

Sunday, December 23:

9:00 A.M. Choir Rehearsal

11:00 A.M. Greening of the Chapel

Advent Service of Lessons and Carols: Sunday, December 9 at 10:00 A.M.

Join us on December 9 as we take a musical journey through the season of Advent. The service centers around seven readings from Scripture which foretell the coming of Christ. In repsonse to each lesson, our Ascension Choir will offer motets like Jesus Christ the Apple Tree by Elizabeth Poston and Adam Lay Ybounden by Peter Warlock, as well as joining the congregation for carols of Advent, like Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence and Comfort, Comfort Ye My People. The service will close with the Eucharist, adorned with sung settings of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei from Michel Corrette's delightful Baroque Christmas Carol mass, Messe pour le tems de Noel.

Christmas at Ascension

Christmas Eve Family Mass

Lessons read by parish children, with carols and Eucharist

Monday, December 24, 4:30 P.M.

Christmas Eve Festival of Lessons & Carols

A choral service of seven lessons and carols for choir and congregation, with Eucharist and festive Mass settings

Monday, December 24, 9:00 P.M.

Christmas Day Mass

A joyful said Mass with Carols

Tuesday, December 25, 10:00 A.M.

Christmas & Cookies!

You are invited to bring a plate of cookies to share at any of these special Christmas services! There will be cookies and tea available before and after each of our Christmas Eve and Christmas services.

“One of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God, we are with God all along, that while we need to be reassured of God’s arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already at home.

While we wait, we have to trust, to have faith, but it is God’s grace that gives us that faith.

﻿As with all spiritual knowledge, two things are true, and equally true, at once. The mind can’t grasp paradox; it is the knowledge of the soul.”

PRAY that we may serve the congregations and the people of this Diocese with faithfulness and joy and love.

The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen